Who We Are

Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is a local unit of government
responsible for managing and protecting the water resources in
one of the largest and most heavily-used urban watersheds in Minnesota.

The watershed stretches 178-square miles from St. Bonifacius
to south Minneapolis and includes Lake Minnetonka, the
Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha Creek, and Minnehaha
Falls. It includes eight major creeks, 129 lakes, and thousands of
wetlands. Learn more about the watershed.

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The west metro's lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands make the
region unique, whether you enjoy recreation, wildlife, or simply looking at the
view of nature out your window. However, development and other human and
natural changes to the environment can place our water resources at significant
risk. The responsibility to protect these resources falls on all of us.

You can help protect the Minnehaha Creek Watershed (MCWD) in
a number of ways, including:

Each year the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) seeks individuals to serve on its Citizen Advisory Committee. Serving as a CAC member is a great way to help protect and preserve Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, and other valued resources within the MCWD. Meetings are held one evening per month.

As a Minnehaha Creek Citizen Advisor, you can participate as much as you like by volunteering on activities like these:

The Freshwater Society developed the Master Water Steward program in 2013 in cooperation with Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD). Over 100 individuals have been trained in the MCWD as part of the program.

Master Water Stewards are sponsored by their local watershed district or municipality and are educated about water quality issues in their local region. They put their training to work by implementing a clean water capstone project, and they continue to serve their community by volunteering their time to maintain their certification.

Master Water Stewards receive over 50 hours of classroom time and online learning taught by experts covering a wide variety of topics, including hydrology, water policy, community engagement, and residential stormwater planning. The program also emphasizes continuous learning, and stewards must complete eight hours of continuing education each year to maintain their certification.

Master Water Stewards are guided through a capstone project after completing training. Capstone projects include the installation of a project that captures rainfall, allows m ore water to soak into the ground, and includes a public outreach component. Examples of capstone projects include rain garden installations, permeable paver installations, and hands-on projects with young people.

Once certified, Master Water Stewards are required to volunteer 50 hours of community service. In subsequent years, they are required to complete 25 hours of community service to maintain their certification. The requirement for community service makes stewards important community advocates for clean water projects, and stewards have used their training to become community organizers, educators, clean water advocates, and community leaders.

The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District has partnered with Freshwater Society to engage residents by forming associations throughout the watershed district. These organizations allow residents and property owners to:

Learn about the threats to our clean water resources and management practices

Better understand how water quality and management of lakes and streams can impact recreation, fish and wildlife, property values and other factors

Get involved in protecting and improving the quality and management of lakes, streams and surrounding areas

The lake and stream associations that currently exist in the district are listed below.

Opportunities for volunteering within the MCWD:

Events

Storm Drain Cleanups

Looking for a volunteer opportunity for your local organization/school/neighborhood/business? Storm drain cleanups are a great way to make a direct impact locally and stop pollutants from going down the stormdrain which would eventually end up in our rivers, lakes, and streams. Cleaning up our water bodies is important - but with a storm drain cleanup you can target pollutants before they pollute our waters. MCWD has storm drain cleanup kits for loan that include dustpans, brushes, trash bags, and gloves - along with instructions for best practices. Contact the Education and Engagement Coordinator for more information.

WHEP

WHEP offers youth (ages 8-19) the opportunity to learn about wildlife habitat management and fisheries management. After the program, participants will be able to judge the quality of a wildlife habitat, have a broader understanding of habitat management practices, and have learned about damage management. The program is a hands-on environmental education program that has been awarded the Conservation Education Award by The Wildlife Society in 1996 and is proud to certify wildlife biologists nationwide.

Carver County opportunities

Carver County has a variety of volunteer opportunities available to help protect water quality in MCWD and Carver County. Opportunities include "Adopt-A-Water" to pick up litter along shorelines, community cleanups for water quality, citizen monitoring programs, and forming a lake/stream association.

Every 5 years MCWD recognizes community members who
have made significant contributions or accomplishments that improve the
quality of water, and by extension, the quality of life in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed
District.

Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) operates a Land Conservation Program to conserve natural resource areas throughout the watershed to protect and enhance water resources and ecological integrity. The Land Conservation Program conserves, restores, and enhances green infrastructure for: regional stormwater management, regional management of sediment and phosphorusrunoff, corridor protection, habitat restoration, and other water resources benefits.

The District may acquire land in fee title or may acquire a conservation easement or lesser interest on a site from willing landowners. In addition to MCWD's acquisition of land and land rights, the Land Conservation Program assists landowners and local units of government in exploring conservation options, encourages natural-resource oriented land management and ecological restoration, facilitates conservation by participating in local land use planning and assisting in technical evaluations, serves as a conservation easement holder, and supports financial and partnership opportunities for landowners and other partners.

When MCWD acquires land or an easement, the District will prepare a management plan and evaluate restoration opportunities, such as remeandering the creek, installing erosion control, stabilizing banks, installing local stormwater management features, restoring wetlands, removing drainage tiles, planting native vegetation, and controlling invasive species.